Mike’s Blog
Strategies, Ideas and Insights for Teachers and Leaders
Tag: engagement
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The two key drivers of all human behaviour you need to understand when managing the behaviour of your learners
One way to think about the causes of behaviour is to talk in terms of motives. These are the internal factors that drive our behaviour. When we say we are…
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Is it inevitable that learners will always test boundaries, no matter who is teaching them?
It is important to remember that behaviour does mean something slightly different in the context of children and young adults compared to what it means for the rest of us.…
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How you can use starter activities to get the behaviour you want from the moment the lesson begins
Different types of starter activities serve different ends when it comes to managing behaviour. Thinking about this when planning your lessons can help you to plan for excellent behaviour. Here…
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The potential of praising change and effort
Praising change is all about positively reinforcing the changes our learners make, as individuals, groups or as a whole class. The great benefit of praising change is that it provides…
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Two powerful strategies any teacher can use to change how they use praise in their classroom
Praise Hunts Unfortunately, some learners go through much of their school career without ever receiving praise. This is a great shame, not least on the level of what we would…
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Why do great behaviour managers use high expectations to challenge low-level disruption?
Consistently communicating high expectations is one of the most effective strategies any teacher can use to help eliminate low-level disruption. High expectations demonstrate to learners that low-level disruption is not…
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Six surefire ways you can use the power of language to eliminate low-level disruption
There are lots of language tools any teacher can use to help eliminate low-level disruption. Here are four to get you started: Talking in terms of ‘we’ Doing this helps…
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Understand why learner engagement is essential to all behaviour management
When it comes to creating engagement, we are talking about ways in which you can bind learners into your lessons, making them feel a part of what is going on…
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Six simple ways any teacher can create engagement at the start of a lesson
Starting with Prior Knowledge If we begin lessons with prior knowledge, we give learners an opportunity to contextualise their learning within the bounds of their existing knowledge and understanding. This…
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How to create engagement by reframing the meaning of your lessons
Strategy One: Real-World Context Many teachers have faced questions like these: They usually indicate a growing disengagement, or sense of pointlessness, from learners. Successfully countering them isn’t easy. But doing…